book of mormon

i hope nobody minds that my first post is about a religious book. i dont want this to be used as a missionary oppurtunity, i just want to tell you what i am reading now. The Book of Mormon is a true account, written and compiled by christian prophets in the americas and their dealings with their families, governments and other waring tribes. i find the wars and other physical strife very metaphorical to my own spiritual wars and strife. there are some people or warriors whose bravery and integrity motivate me to take courage and be stronger. anyways, alot of people don't believe that this book is historcally accurate and it's difficult to read it as a fictional novel. however, if you do believe it, it is very hard to read only once because of the vast ammount of symbolism and personal revelation you can find.

Unlikely

Unlikely is another graphic novel(sometimes very graphic indeed), by Jeffrey Brown. It's the prequel to Clumsy. Like Clumsy, it is autobiographical, about a young relationship; a bit awkward, often pathetic. I felt a little uncomfortable and sorry for the guy. My husband read this right before I did and when he saw me reading it, shook his head and said "poor guy." But there was still something charming and cute about him. I think it was partly the honesty it was written with and also the style of his drawings. The expressions on their faces were very simple but the feelings they conveyed were quite strong. It left me wanting more again. The third and last book in the girlfriend series is called AEIOU. Jeffrey Brown has also done a parody of Clumsy called Be A Man, "full of typical male antics".

Pnin

Well, I tried reading this book because someone's review of it intrigued me(see Nov.8 post). I got as far as page 36 and realized I was just torturing myself. Not everyone has the same taste in books.

LMNOP

I finished Ella Minnow Pea last night. It took a page or two for me to get used to the language of the Nollopians because they use so many words that I have never heard before. I had to kind of train myself to know the definition of words by the context they were used in. Then letters disappeared from the story altogether. My favorite was when the letter D was outlawed and they had to change the names of the week like satto-gatto for saturday or sunshine for sunday. It gave me a new awareness of words in the past few days. I noticed myself eliminating certain letters when thinking to myself for awhile after finishing the book. The political message of the book reminded me a lot of Animal Farm (by George Orwell); that too much power or control causes greed and corruption. What a satisfying read. Thanks Dagga, for the recommendation!

Publishing in Iceland

The Icelandic book catalog has made it´s way to all homes in Iceland, it is a yearly ritual to sit down with the catalog and decide whitch books you would like to read and mark the one you would like for Christmas in a way that members of your family can´t possibly miss.
Oh, the joy of the annual book catalog. This year it has over 600 titles, every book published in Icelandic this year.
40 original children books,
121 translated children books,
67 original fiction for adults,
70 translated fiction for adults,
36 poetry books (1 translated)
then there are the art and photagraphy books, biography - autobiography, interview books (always popular) history, geography, inspirational books, cookbooks and other misc. non-fiction.
A bit over the top for a population of 260.000.
My favorite Icelandic author Gyrðir Elíasson has 1 new collection of short stories, a book of poetry and a translation. It is actually one of the most interesting translation this year, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, I have not read it in yet but I´m told that it is a wonderful story for both children and adults.
So many books so little time.

finished!

I finished The Time Traveler's Wife. What an amazing story. The reviews I have read all seem to dwell on it as being a love story. But it's so much more than that. It's anything but Hollywood romance. It is actually a little bit sad, but I think that made it realistic. Obviously someone who travels through time and ends up naked in public places will have bad things happen to them. It was disturbing sometimes but not so much that I would cringe; pretty mild disturbances. I think my favorite parts were when the author described the wife, Clare, making her sculptures and other art. She described it as though the art was making itself. It was so graphic. I want to talk about it some more but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who has yet to read it. Audrey Niffenegger is also an artist. She does some pretty cool stuff. Her website: www.audreyniffenegger.com
She has a new book that was published this year, a "visual novel in eighty aquatints", The Three Incestuous Sisters. I am going to convince the head librarian here to order it.

for the love of graphic novels

I just read Clumsy tonight. It's by Jeffrey Brown. It's really cute and entertaining, and it only took about an hour to read. Aaah...the graphic novel. So satisfying, in so little time. It's like a cross between a movie and a book. It's not as lazy as a movie and you still get to use your imagination. Jeffrey Brown's site: www.theholyconsumption.com

a novel without letters

I read the most wonderful book last night, it is called Ella Minnow Pea and is a true adventure of letters and words. It is short, only took me a few hours to read so you English speaking people should be even quicker to read it.
It´s told in letters between people on a fictionary island nation of the shores of South Carolina. It´s almost an utopian society where technology is used sparely and arts and language held in the highest regard. Then one day for reasons I won´t go into (so as not to spoil the fun for you) the high council decide to outlaw the letter "Z" from the language. As you can see it leads to certain caos. Then one by one they outlaw more and more letters from the language. It is a true joy to read the letters between the people as they try to follow this new law and the book is a treasure for everyone that loves words and language. It is also a fable on how power can corrupte and really makes you think about how goverments in general hold power over theire people and how easy it is to abuse.
So, put it on your reading list.

Pnin

I'm not yet done The Time Traveler's Wife but I have decided that the next book I want to read is called Pnin. The author is Vladimir Nabokov. It's a novella (meaning short novel...good news for those of us who have little time to read). I don't know a lot about it but a review that I read intrigued me.
Here's the review (by Zadie Smith):
"This novella is explicitly a book about ridicule and caricature-Professor Pnin is a joke of a man on a college campus. He's an awkward Russian emigre with bad English, false teeth, a clumsy sense of humour, a tendency to burst into tears or take offence at small slights. Everybody on campus can do an impression of him. He's a clown. But at the core of the book is the idea that there is a Pnin who is as real as the people who ridicule him. You are invited to laugh at him, and then you are humbled and shamed by your own laughter. It's a gorgeous, hilarious, humane book that uncovers the reality of a man's life in sly, piecemeal fashion. I think it's my favorite novel."

If anyone wants to read this book with me and give your thoughts on it, please do! I love it when other people are reading the same book as me. It makes it feel like more of an event. I will probably start reading it when I get it in a week or two. So join me if you like. Your local library either has a copy or can probably bring it in for you.

Corine wants me to read another Paulo Coelho book with her sometime...maybe The Alchemist?

Kitty and the midnight hour

Hi, I just finished reading Kitty and the midnight hour, I liked it. It will never be confused with the great world literature but who cares. I like to call this sub-genre in fantasy/horror, vampire chick lit. they are always set in an alternate reality that is almost like ours but not quite. Kitty is a werewolf in the closet that hosts a late night radio show and starts to get phone calls from vampires and werewolves in need of advise. The plot is not terrible complicated but its enough to hold your interest through out the whole story and the characters could use a little bit more developing. But hey its fluff it´s not supposed to be complicated. I still like it, although for people starting out in this genre I would recommend Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison and Dead until dark by Charlaine Harris and the hilarious Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson.

the present

(re: The Time Traveler's Wife)
This novel is written in the present tense. It is really well done because I didn't actually notice the fact until last night! Writing in the present tense is a little more challenging. I remember trying to write a short story in junior high using present tense and it turned out sounding like I was trying too hard to be edgy or something. Anyway, it sucked. It was too obvious.